ofoundly that upon one solitary deed of mine, one solitary prayer, depended the salvation of the world.This day I had ceased to plead. I was no longer capable of lamentation. On the contrary, I felt very strong. I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes were open and I was terribly alone- terribly alone in a world without God and without man. Without love or mercy. I had ceased to be anything but ashes, yet I felt myself to be stronger than the Almighty, to whom my life had been tied for so long. I stood amid that praying congregation, observing it like a stranger. (65)The tone of the passage as a whole is not remarkably violent, but the words Wiesel uses are strong, nonetheless (perhaps even stronger than in the previous passages). The passage beings with the word “once.” This leads the reader to the understanding that Wiesel had believed something at some previous time, but no longer feels the same way. This can be compared to the following paragraph which begins “This day”(italics mine). This shows the distinction between an old and new Wiesel. Not only was he physically changing during this time, his emotional changes were causing a change in his belief system.In this passage we see the inner reckoning of Wiesel to the conflict he has been fighting within himself. Until now, Wiesel has felt guilty about his growing distrust in God. Since childhood, the focus of the young boy’s life has been spiritual- and now he feels betrayed. He even goes as far as saying that he, the accuser, is accusing God himself.Wiesel goes on to say that his was alone- “terribly alone.” There is nothing in this world- religion, man, love, mercy- except Wiesel himself. This is ironic, seeing that he and the other Jews were so tightly packed into first the ghetto, then the trains, finally the camps themselves. It would seem- physically, at least- that Wiesel was closer to more people at this point t...
